The academic–vocational divide in three Nordic countries: implications for social class and gender

In this study we examine how the academic–vocational divide is manifested today in Finland, Iceland and Sweden in the division between vocationally (VET) and academicallyoriented programmes at the upper-secondary school level. The paper is based on a critical re-analysis of results from previous studies; in it we investigate the implications of this divide for class and gender inequalities. The theoretical lens used for the synthesis is based on Bernstein´s theory of pedagogic codes. In the re-analysis we draw on previous studies of policy, curriculum and educational praxis as well as official statistics. The main conclusions are that contemporary policy and curriculum trends in all three countries are dominated by a neo-liberal discourse stressing principles such as “market relevance” and employability. This trend strengthens the academic–vocational divide, mainly through an organisation of knowledge in VET that separates it from more general and theoretical elements. This trend also seems to affect VET students’ transitions in terms of reduced access to higher education, particularly in male-dominated programmes. We also identify low expectations for VET students, manifested through choice of textbooks and tasks, organisation of teacher teams and the advice of career counsellors.</p

Mellan anpassning och förändring ­ Vart är skolan på väg med den borgerliga alliansen reformförslag?

Problem, syfte och frågeställningar Hur förhåller sig den borgerliga alliansens utbildningspolitiska reformförslag till de motstridiga kraven på social integration och social förändring som funnits i utbildningssystemet sedan genombrottet för den kapitalistiska demokratin? Problemformulering: Var i spänningsfältet mellan anpassning och förändring befinner sig skolan med den borgerliga alliansens reformförslag? Syftet med uppsatsen är att ge en övergripande bild av den nyvalda regeringens reformambitioner för skolan genom att sätta in dessa i ett läroplansteoretiskt sammanhang. Frågeställningar: Vilken historisk respektive utbildningsfilosofisk grund vilar alliansens reformförslag på gällande: · Kunskapandets villkor och syn på eleven? (Mikro) · Skolan som organisationsform? (Meso) · Skolan i samhället? (Makro) Material, metoder och analyser Uppsatsens metod handlar i huvudsak om ett försök att omarbeta och därefter använda utbildningsfilosofiskt de begrepp som den etablerade läroplansteoretikern Tomas Englund skapat i sitt försök att förstå skolans historiska utveckling. Genom att använda Englunds begrepp försöker vi identifiera och förstå den utbildningsfilosofiska grunden för den borgerliga alliansens reformförslag för skolan. Det mest tongivande materialet i uppsatsen är således dels Tomas Englunds avhandling "Läroplanens och skolkunskapens politiska dimension" och dels den borgerliga alliansens reformförslag för svenska skola "Mer kunskap ­ en modern utbildningspolitik för Sverige". Resultat och didaktiska konsekvenser Den borgerliga alliansens reformförslag har en klar tendens i riktning mot anpassningssidan i det historiska spänningsfältet. Detta kan få omfattande konsekvenser för hela skolans verksamhet i försvårandet av en progressiv utformning av undervisningen gällande allt från klassrumssituationen till användandet av skolan som ett redskap för att angripa strukturella ojämlikheter

Framtidsvägen : Vägen till vilken framtid för eleverna på gymnasieskolans yrkesprogram?

Den 13 maj 2009 lämnade regeringen över proposition 2008/09:199 till riksdagen. Propositionen innehåller förslag till de mest omfattande och genomgripande förändringarna av gymnasieskolan sedan 90-talets gymnasiereform. Som underlag för propositionen ligger gymnasieutredningen Framtidsvägen – en reformerad gymnasieskola, vilken fick i uppdrag att föreslå en ny struktur för gymnasieskolan. Propositionen följer på de flesta punkter de förslag som presenterades i utredningen, och det är denna utredning som analyseras i föreliggande artikel. I artikeln riktas intresset mot utredningens förslag avseende den innehållsliga utformningen av de framtida yrkesprogrammen. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna hämtas från läroplansteoretisk forskning, framförallt från Englund (2005) och Carr och Hartnett (1996), där den historiska spänningen mellan skolans sociala-medborgerliga uppdrag och dess ekonomiska-arbetsmarknadsstyrda uppdrag fokuseras. Utredningens förslag till framtida yrkesprogram diskuteras mot bakgrund av vilket framtida samhälle, liksom vilken roll i detta samhälle, eleverna förbereds för. Avslutningsvis diskuteras vilken gymnasieskolans huvudsakliga samhälleliga funktion blir med utredningens förslag.</p

Yrkesutbildning, klass &amp; kunskap : en studie om sociala och politiska implikationer av innehållets organisering i yrkesorienterad utbildning med fokus på 2011 års gymnasiereform

The overall purpose of this thesis is to critically contextualise the organization of content in Swedish upper-secondary vocational education by highlighting its social and political implications in relation to social class. Policy documents concerning the content of vocational education in Sweden from 1971 to 2011 serve as the main empirical source, with particular attention given to the reform of 2011 (Gy11). The thesis is comprised of four studies that each represents a different context that reveals social and political implications of the selection and organisation of content in Gy11. The content structure of Gy11 is thus analysed in relation to (a) the school’s role of fostering democratic citizens and the overarching societal function of education, (b) knowledge distribution among social classes, (c) a class context, including key historical and contemporary reforms, and (d) a modern historical context, focusing on how two previous structural reforms (1971 and 1994) organised power and control over educational content. The study results show that, in terms of its content structure and underlying principles, Gy11 represents a historical break with previous reforms in many respects. Fundamental organising principles of past reforms, such as students’ preparation for active citizenship, critical thinking and entry to higher education, have been given less importance while the content is more context-bound than in previous reforms. The Gy11 reform can thus be seen as a part of a broader policy trend that is detracting from earlier efforts to give all social classes equal access to an equivalent education and reduce social imbalances in education. This new way of shaping vocational education is, it is argued, likely to exacerbate class inequalities by both reducing social mobility and rendering knowledge distribution in society more asymmetric

The relevance of class in education policy and research : the case of Sweden’s vocational education

Over the last few decades, less importance has been attached to the concept of class in educational policy and educational research. Due to the continued relevance of class in many educational contexts, this article argues that this trend is unfortunate, untimely and unwarranted, and that important questions are overlooked as a result. As a case in point, the article examines contemporary policy trends in upper-secondary vocational education in Sweden. The article comprises two interrelated sections. The first discusses the more general matter of the relevance of class (and its critique) and how class can be understood in contemporary society. Following the conclusions from part one, the second section demonstrates how problems arise when vocational education is removed from its class context, illustrated by contemporary policy trends in Sweden where not only issues of class  are ignored, but policies are also adopted that are likely to augment class inequalities

Yrkesutbildning, klass &amp; kunskap : en studie om sociala och politiska implikationer av innehållets organisering i yrkesorienterad utbildning med fokus på 2011 års gymnasiereform

The overall purpose of this thesis is to critically contextualise the organization of content in Swedish upper-secondary vocational education by highlighting its social and political implications in relation to social class. Policy documents concerning the content of vocational education in Sweden from 1971 to 2011 serve as the main empirical source, with particular attention given to the reform of 2011 (Gy11). The thesis is comprised of four studies that each represents a different context that reveals social and political implications of the selection and organisation of content in Gy11. The content structure of Gy11 is thus analysed in relation to (a) the school’s role of fostering democratic citizens and the overarching societal function of education, (b) knowledge distribution among social classes, (c) a class context, including key historical and contemporary reforms, and (d) a modern historical context, focusing on how two previous structural reforms (1971 and 1994) organised power and control over educational content. The study results show that, in terms of its content structure and underlying principles, Gy11 represents a historical break with previous reforms in many respects. Fundamental organising principles of past reforms, such as students’ preparation for active citizenship, critical thinking and entry to higher education, have been given less importance while the content is more context-bound than in previous reforms. The Gy11 reform can thus be seen as a part of a broader policy trend that is detracting from earlier efforts to give all social classes equal access to an equivalent education and reduce social imbalances in education. This new way of shaping vocational education is, it is argued, likely to exacerbate class inequalities by both reducing social mobility and rendering knowledge distribution in society more asymmetric

Lärare eller hantverkare? Om betydelsen av yrkeslärares yrkesidentifikation för vad de värderar som viktig kunskap på Bygg- och anläggningsprogrammet: [Teacher or craftsman? The importance of vocational teachers’ professional identification for what they regard as important knowledge in the Building and construction programme]

This study examines the importance of vocational teachers’ professional identification for what they regard as important knowledge in the Building and construction programme in Swedish upper secondary school. The analysis is based on responses to a questionnaire completed by a large majority of teachers in the Building and construction programme in the Västra Götaland region. The responses suggest that the professional identification is an important factor not only for vocational teacher’s identification of important knowledge for students, but even more so for what they value as important knowledge in their own role as teachers. Two different types of vocational teachers emerge from the analysis: one who sees one’s self primarily as a craftsman and another who sees one’s self primarily as a teacher. While both types of vocational teachers place great importance on knowledge that can be traced back to a vocational culture, the ’craftsman’ clearly considers such knowledge as more important than, and more isolated from, pedagogical issues and knowledge stemming from a school culture. In contrast, the ’teacher’ considers the three fields as being almost equally important and regards vocational culture as more closely associated with pedagogical issues and a school culture

Balancing ‘flexibility’ and ‘employability’ : The changing role of general studies in the Finnish and Swedish VET curricula of the 1990s and 2010s

This article analyses and compares the evolving role of general subjects in the curricula of initial upper secondary vocational education and training (VET) in Finland and Sweden during the 1990s and 2010s. The research illustrates how Bernstein’s concept of ‘pedagogic code’ supports comparative studies on principles guiding changes to curricula and how the role of general studies in VET has been redefined. The findings show that while a principle of ‘market relevance’ has been central to VET over the decades since the 1990s, it has been subject to varying interpretations. The shifts in interpretations have guided the organisation of VET in these two countries in different directions, including the role of general subjects within the curriculum. On a general level, the countries share some key similarities. Both countries emphasised lifelong learning and a broadening of VET in the 1990s, based on a core principle of ‘flexibility’. In the 2010s, the earlier promotion of flexibility and universal access to higher education was superseded by a stronger focus on employability and entrepreneurship in addition to students’ command of more specific vocational tasks.peerReviewe

Escalating Consumption and Spatial Planning : Notes on the Evolution of Swedish Retail Spaces

The aim of this article is to describe and investigate how the Swedish escalation in consumption and restructuring of retail spaces are dealt with in Swedish spatial planning. In the first part of this article, we present a history and an overview of the Swedish retail evolution. The major changes are presented, followed by a short discussion of some main actors in this evolution. In the second part of this article, we focus on policies and the planning process, discussing how the municipalities are expected to fulfil their tasks as the agents responsible for physical planning of commercial centres in the light of the ongoing rapid escalation of retail planning projects. Recent guidelines from the national and regional authorities for improvement of the current situation are analysed. Finally, we discuss recent research maintaining that a new form for project planning is emerging within commercial planning. This new form sometimes bypasses traditional planning practices and thus requires new instruments and organizations for a more effective planning of urban retail

Congreso Bolivariano de los pueblos: Una propuesta de organización

Starting with the analysis of the complex situation that burdens the Latin-American and Caribbean countries today, a product in great measure, beyond its own internal contradictions, of the globalization process impelled by the savage capitalism at the end of the Cold War, the Panamanian environmental engineer, Manuel F. Zárate, presents in this work an organizational proposal for the effort to integrate our people under the auspices of the Venezuelan Bolivarian government and the leadership of Hugo Chávez Frías, as a liberating answer to such a situation.A partir del análisis de la situación compleja que agobia a los países latinoamericanos y caribeños actualmente, producto en gran medida, además de sus propias contradicciones internas, del proceso de globalización impuesto por el capitalismo salvaje al término de la Guerra Fría, el ingeniero ambientalista panameño, Manuel F. Zárate, hace en este trabajo una propuesta organizativa para el esfuerzo de integración de nuestros pueblos que ha venido auspiciando el gobierno bolivariano de Venezuela, presidido por Hugo Chávez Frías, como una respuesta liberadora a dicha situación